History is often perceived as a serious subject, one filled with nerds and books. It is a field where its adherents are filled with passion. Historians embark on peaceful crusades (oxymoronic?) for truth and honesty. They push for transparency in society and help us understand the present in a unique way.
This post is dedicated to understanding how history comes about in funny ways. Every discipline has its funny parts and history is no different. Satire is one of the best forms of historical humor because it plays on the characters and events we know and perhaps embellish or appreciate. The 21st century form of humor of memes also have taken hold of the historical field. It is possible that humor could be one of the best ways for the public to learn history.
Taking the dark into something light is a common trend in historical humor. The dark days of World War 1 are no exception. Here the meme puts us off guard by using the theme that WW1 was a war where the countries involved wanted to fight. Its simplicity tells us one of the causes that led to WW1. The genius also involves knowing the character involved in the meme: Ryan Stiles, a key cast member of the Whose Line Is It Anyway show. His dead-pan style is fitting of this meme.
Another classic example of teaching the past: Drunk History. This democratization of History is hilarious because it takes a spin on actual historic events or people but puts them in the lens of being told through a drunk narrator. Again, the beauty of historical humor is that it is recognizable and relatable. Abe Lincoln and Frederick Douglas were real people, we all know that, but by virtue of being drunk, the narrator puts them in stories or situations we couldn't possibly perceive with a sober mind. Sometimes great moments in history or life come out when we don't expect them. Hopefully we remember this moment. Pay attention to 2:59 in the clip.
Social media obviously is a huge market for humor. This screenshot comes from a book called History of the World via Facebook. The instantly recognizable format makes it a fun way to digest some of the actual events that took place in the world. It also takes modern lingo and inserts it in dialogue for past stories. The contradiction makes for a fun time.
The film Inglorious Basterds takes history and blows it way out of proportion. Its grotesque action sequences make it a gory adventure that somehow feels good (because who doesn't want to kill Hitler?) Dark humor at its best knows what to say and how to say it. This movie knows that WW2 is a popular subject for many and it knows that murdering the 3rd Reich is a gratifying feeling. History humor that is offensive but well-created is like an itch that is being relieved. You don't want to touch it, but you know it feels good when it is taken care of.
And lastly, self-deprecating humor as a means of communicating with people. It is a useful tool for a discipline/profession to have a "hate on thyself so no one else will" category because it helps inform people as to the struggles and realizations of how arduous, but potentially fun work that their job is actually. While you might not find a historian doing an open mic night comedy sketch, you might find their humor in an actual sketch. Such as the one below. Again, the best kind of comedy is that which is relatable. Historians will see themselves in this comic, which is why they'll laugh because they recognize its full embodiment of a historian's truth invoked here.
History is still here and alive in so many ways, the only question is: is the population of the world going to take the lessons, or ideas from the characters, or will they laugh and move on? Hopefully humor gets people clicking and thinking about who the people and events are.
Thanks for learning some material related to humor and history.